State of Montana Archives: on Budget & Economy

The federal government's inability to live within a balanced budget is shameful. Our generation is saddling future generations through intergenerational theft. We are stealing from our children,
and our children's children to pay for today's big government. I will stand with those who wish to pass a balanced budget amendment. Our federal government has proven that it cannot, by will power or legislation alone, live within their means.

Source: 2018 Montana Senatorial website AlForSenate.us
Oct 1, 2017

Steve Bullock:
Veto any budget in the red

I am hopeful that the Legislature now appreciates that my insistence on leaving a $300-million ending fund balance isn't just whimsy. It's what Montanans expect. It is why, even in the face of declining commodity prices over these past two years, our
bond ratings remain high--and you all got to stay home between sessions.

In 2013, you learned I will veto spending if you send me a budget that's in the red. In 2015, we crafted a budget together that worked for Montana, and that left money in the
bank for rainy days. I ask you to do that again.

And just as I insist you balance our budget and leave money in the bank, I will insist that our state agencies be as careful with the money they are given as Montana families are with their own.
That's why, even before the Legislature came to town, we trimmed $102 million dollars of spending. That's why, even after the Legislature leaves town, I will continue to challenge our agencies to be careful stewards of hard-working families' tax dollars.

Source: 2017 State of the State address to Montana Legislature
Jan 24, 2017

Brad Johnson:
Revitalize our traditional economic base

In the past half century we have seen Montana's per capita income plummet from 10th highest in the country to 49th and our most valuable export has become young Montanans graduating from our university system.
This precipitous decline is tied directly to the decline of our natural resource based industries. We cannot hope to recapture the prosperity that once was ours without a concerted and sustained effort to revitalize our traditional economic base.

Growing the Economy and Controlling Spending: Our $17 trillion debt is unfathomable in size, irresponsible in creation, and reckless to continue.
As such, I strongly support a peacetime balanced budget amendment and a dramatic reduction in the size and scope of government. Washington must be held accountable to ensure that the funding of programs
is based on measurable performance standards and are held accountable to fall within the law. But there is no way we will be able to cut our way out of this mess. We must grow our way out.
That means that we have to get government out of the way of business. We need to cut burdensome regulation and allow people to succeed.

Amanda Curtis:
Economy that works for all of us, not just for the richest

Speech Accepting the Party's Nomination: "For the next three months, we're going to cross this state--towns small and large--and we're going to talk to people. We're going to share this vision--of an economy that works for all of us,
not just for the richest Americans, but beyond that we're going to listen because there's a hunger--a hunger for people to have leaders who actually listen for a change.

Champ Edmunds:
The borrower is servant to the lender

Question topic: Free enterprise and the right to private property turn mankind's natural self interest into the fairest and most productive economic system there is, and are the key to national prosperity.

Edmunds: Strongly Agree.

Question topic: Briefly list political or legislative issues of most concern to you.

Edmunds: National Debt. The borrower is servant to the lender. We need to be a debt free Government and a debt free nation.

Steve Daines:
Obama stimulus shipped American jobs to China

Montana Senate candidates Steve Daines and John Walsh accuse each other in TV ads of helping to ship American jobs to China, but both sides fail to support their exaggerated claims.

Daines says Walsh "supported shipping American jobs to China,"
referring to President Obama's economic stimulus. But Walsh wasn't in the Senate at the time and didn't vote on the legislation. A small portion of the stimulus did go to Chinese firms, but Walsh had nothing to do with the award of stimulus contracts.

Walsh says Daines worked to build factories in China "at the same time Daines' company was firing thousands of American workers here." Daines did help Procter & Gamble expand in China in the 1990s,
but the company says Daines was not involved in strategic corporate decisions. Moreover, the implication that expansion in China came at the expense of U.S. jobs is unsupported.

Source: FactCheck.org on 2014 Montana Senate race
May 22, 2014

Steve Bullock:
Be responsible, because our children are watching

What I ask of you tonight is simple and straightforward:

Be responsible with our budget, because I won't allow you to spend more than we take in or make cuts that undermine our long-term stability.

Join me in focusing on creating jobs, investing in education, and making government more effective; and

Lastly, act in a manner that we're not ashamed to have our children watching...because they are.

Source: 2013 State of the State Address to Montana legislature
Jan 30, 2013

Dennis Rehberg:
$787B stimulus package did not create jobs

Tester defended the $787 billion stimulus spending as critical at a time when the country was hemorrhaging jobs and spiraling toward a depression, while Rehberg criticized it as a failure.

Tester said the spending was a step in the right direction
as it built infrastructure and created jobs, which would be his No. 1 priority if re-elected. "We're still not where we need to be. But it was a step in the right direction to help us move forward," he said. "We couldn't sit back and do nothing."

Rehberg called his opponent fiscally irresponsible, and drew again and again on Tester's record of aligning with the administration of President Barack Obama. "I didn't vote for it then and I wouldn't vote for it now,"
Rehberg said of the stimulus bill. "It didn't create jobs. You don't spend a trillion dollars and hope to create an asset. It's an expense, not an asset. The stimulus failed. Where are the jobs?"

Source: Billings Gazette on 2012 Montana Senate debates
Oct 15, 2012

Jon Tester:
$787B in stimulus spending was step in the right direction

Tester defended the $787 billion stimulus spending as critical at a time when the country was hemorrhaging jobs and spiraling toward a depression, while Rehberg criticized it as a failure.

Tester said the spending was a step in the right direction
as it built infrastructure and created jobs, which would be his No. 1 priority if re-elected. The senator pointed to the ongoing construction of the Kalispell bypass and the rehabilitation of the Going-to-the-Sun Road as projects enabled by the stimulus
package. "We're still not where we need to be. But it was a step in the right direction to help us move forward," he said. "We couldn't sit back and do nothing."

Rehberg called his opponent fiscally irresponsible, and drew again and
again on Tester's record of aligning with the administration of President Barack Obama. "I didn't vote for it then and I wouldn't vote for it now," Rehberg said of the stimulus bill. "It didn't create jobs."

Source: Billings Gazette on 2012 Montana Senate debates
Oct 15, 2012

Dennis Rehberg:
Refused to toe the party line on CAFTA

Rehberg was one of only four House Republicans to vote against the GOP budget introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and, in 2008, he voted against the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

The six-term lawmaker recently ran an ad saying he "refused to
toe the party line" on such Republican priorities as "Bush's Wall Street bailout," the Central American Free Trade Agreement and "a Republican budget plan that could harm the Medicare program so many of Montana's seniors rely on."

Source: The Hill coverage of 2012 Montana Senate debate
Jun 25, 2012

Ryan Zinke:
Our government should spend within its means; no new fees

Q: Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget?

A: No. Our government should spend within its means. Montana should always be vigilant to examine ways to increase government efficiency and reduce waste.
Providing incentives for clean, small business opportunities promotes a needed long term revenue stream. I believe in a fair and progressive tax system that does not penalize incentive and innovation.

Q: Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget?

A: No. I strongly support meaningful property tax reform to ensure that Montanans do not get taxed out of their homes and/or farms.

Source: Montana Congressional 2008 Political Courage Test
Nov 1, 2008

Conrad Burns:
Grow economy & control spending to reduce deficit

BURNS: Thereís only one way to control the deficit--grow the economy and control spending. We have brought down spending on
the discretionary spending - the part we have some control over. The non-discretionary part is troubling. Weíre continuing with the tax cuts which have energized the economy--thatís the way you take care of the deficit. We didnít ask for 9/11, or
Katrina, or the war on terror. We always grew through it. You grow the economy and control spending and thatís the way you take care of the deficit.

TESTER: When it comes to funding for Montana, we took the third biggest cut in FY05, in that
discretionary funding. Out of 13 subcommittee chairs, Sen. Burns is ranked 10th in getting dollars to this state for critical projects. Itís time that we spend the money wiser, that we prioritize better, and start looking out for middle class folks.

BURNS: Thereís only one way to control the deficit--grow the economy and control spending. We have brought down spending on
the discretionary spending - the part we have some control over. The non-discretionary part is troubling. Weíre continuing with the tax cuts which have energized the economy--thatís the way you take care of the deficit. We didnít ask for 9/11, or
Katrina, or the war on terror. We always grew through it. You grow the economy and control spending and thatís the way you take care of the deficit.

TESTER: When it comes to funding for Montana, we took the third biggest cut in FY05, in that
discretionary funding. Out of 13 subcommittee chairs, Sen. Burns is ranked 10th in getting dollars to this state for critical projects. Itís time that we spend the money wiser, that we prioritize better, and start looking out for middle class folks.

Stan Jones:
Eliminate numerous unconstitutional federal departments

Q: How would you reduce the federal deficit?

JONES: Thatís easy for me. Eliminate the unconstitutional department of education. Eliminate the unconstitutional department of energy. Eliminate Housing and Urban Development, and Health & Welfare, and all
the unconstitutional agencies and programs in the federal government. Then eliminate the ability for the federal government to pass laws that bribe state governments to pass things that the federal government cannot pass constitutionally. That makes the
state government grow. I donít understand how people can take an oath of office knowing that they are outside the law of the constitution. They are outlaws!

BURNS: Thereís only one way to control the deficit--grow the economy and control spending.

TESTER: Itís time that we spend the money wiser, that we prioritize better, and start looking out for middle class folks. But thatís not the people who have control--the cronies on K-Street that buy votes have more control than the folks that elect us.

Source: 2006 Montana 3-way Senate Debate at MSU
Oct 9, 2006

Judy Martz:
Diversify the economy; expand job market

We have gained more than 107,000 jobs in the past ten years. Compare that to the 1980ís when jobs grew by only 43,000. Weíre growing -- but not as fast as we should. We can do better. We will not rest until Montanaís economy reflects the diversity and
capacity of the people within it. The Martz Administrationís primary goal is to diversify our economy, expand our job market with higher paying jobs, actively supporting and recruiting businesses that can thrive within our current environmental standards

Source: 2001 State of the State Address to Montana Legislature
Jan 25, 2001

Judy Martz:
Teach businesses about venture capital, to create jobs

We have laid the groundwork for future economic growth through our Jobs and Opportunities initiative. Weíre working to eliminate the roadblocks to creating and growing technology businesses in the state. We are teaching our
companies the tricks of competition for venture capital and we are beginning to see results -- since 1999, Montana businesses have garnered $1.5 million in awards, which translate into more and better paying jobs.

Source: 2001 State of the State Address to Montana Legislature
Jan 25, 2001